Pourable cream concentrate

ABSTRACT

The specification describes a pourable cream concentrate containing fat, Alpha -monoglycerides, egg yolk, sugar and polyalcohols; this cream concentrate remains microbiologically stable for about 6 weeks when stored at ambient temperature. Optimally vegetable phosphatides, egg white and a stabiliser can be present in the cream concentrate of the invention. The cream concentrate can be diluted, e.g. with milk, to provide a cream which - when whipped - has a specific volume of more than 2 and a good &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;stand-up.

United States Patent Pennings et al.

POURABLE CREAM CONCENTRATE Inventors: Henricus Jacobus Pennings,

Beijerland, Netherlands; Norbert Herendi, Delmenhorst, Germany Assignee:Lever Brothers Company, New

York, NY.

Filed: Dec. 7, 1973 Appl. No.: 423,372

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/l957 Prince 426/363 X [451 May13,1975

Primary Examiner-Raymond N. Jones Assistant ExaminerR. A. YoncoskieAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Lever Brothers Company [57] ABSTRACT Thespecification describes a pourable cream concentrate containing fat,a-monoglycerides, egg yolk, sugar and polyalcohols; this creamconcentrate remains microbiologically stable for about 6 weeks whenstored at ambient temperature. Optimally vegetable phosphatides, eggwhite and a stabiliser can be present in the cream concentrate of theinvention. The cream concentrate can be diluted, e.g. with milk, toprovide a cream which when whipped has a specific volume of more than 2and a good standup.

9 Claims, No Drawings 1 POURABLE CREAM CONCENTRATE The present inventionrelates to a cream concentrate, a cream prepared therefrom and to aprocess for preparing the cream concentrate.

The invention particularly relates to a cream concentrate which ispourable for at least several weeks, eg 6 weeks. which remainsmicrobiologically stable for the same period even when stored at ambienttemperature, e.g. C, and from which preferably by dilution a whippablefilled cream can be prepared, and to a pro cess for preparing such aconcentrate. The cream whip of the invention has a specific volume ofmore than 2, especially 2.2 to 3.0, more particularly 2.5 to 2.8ml/gram.

Conventional cream concentrates often are or become plastic at ambienttemperature when stored for some time and/or inadequate in respect ofone or more of the following characteristics: microbiological stability,whippability of the cream prepared therefrom and hold-up of the creamwhip and taste.

In this specification by a cream concentrate" is meant an oil-in-wateremulsion containing a substantial proportion of vegetable fat, whichemulsion especially when mixed with a suitable proportion of waterand/or milk, skim milk or similar aqueous protein containing phase canbe used as a cream of the required fat content, which cream cansubsequently be whipped to provide the cream whip.

THE PRIOR ART Egg yolk containing oil-in-water emulsions are disclosedin Belgian Patent Specification No. 632,923, British PatentSpecification Nos. 357,246 and 334,863.

The creams disclosed in these old references are as regards one or moreofthe properties such as pourability, microbiological stability atambient temperature, specific volume after whipping and stand-up" of thewhip, inferior to the products of the instant invention.

In Irish Patent Application No. 483/66 cream concentrates are disclosedcontaining fat, sugar, emulsifying agents and stabilizers.

Such concentrates, however, are free from egg yolk and consequently awhip prepared from such a cream concentrate lacks the soft creamy tasteand texture of a whip prepared from the products of the instantinvention.

The inherent microbiological problems of egg yolk containingoil-in-water emulsions are the reason why nowadays the emulsions, whensold as such, do not contain egg yolk or vice versa are spray-dried whenthey contain egg yolk.

By a critical selection of ingredients the pourable products of theinvention, which contain egg yolk, are microbiologically stable atambient temperature, even without having been sterilized, and provide asuitable basis for an excellently tasting cream whip of a high specificvolume and a good stand-up.

The dilatation values of the fat or fat blend as described in thisspecification were determined by the method described in BoekenoogenAnalysis and Characterization of Oils, Fats and Fat Products, Vol. I1964, lnterscience Publishers, London pp. l43 et seq..

Preferably monoglycerides are used which are substantially completelysaturated e.g. monoglycerides from substantially completely hydrogenatedfats e.g.

palm oil of a melting point of about 58C, sunflower oil of a meltingpoint of about 67C or rapeseed oil of a melting point of about 70C, ormonoglycerides of saturated fatty acids, e.g. with 14 and i6 carbonatoms; the latter monoglycerides can e.g. be prepared by synthesis. Itcan be advantageous to use those monoglycerides which uponcrystallisation of the selected fat blend will provide a percentage ofsolid fat at 20C of at least l0 percent of the fat content in theemulsion, preferably at least l5 percent, e.g. after tempering theemulsion for 24 hours at 8C and 24 hours at 20C.

The product of the invention preferably also comprises at least 5percent by weight of sugars, the upper limit of the sugar concentrationbeing determined by the solubility of the sugar in the aqueous phase ofthe filled cream concentrate. Suitable sugars are e.g. saccharose,dextrose, lactose, fructose etc., which sugars are preferably applied ina concentration of 8-20 percent by weight (calculated on the emulsion)vThe product of the invention preferably also comprises 5l5 percent,especially 8-12 percent by weight of polyalcohols e.gv glycerol,mannitol and particularly sorbitol. It is particularly preferred thatboth sugars and polyalcohols are present in the product of theinvention, e.g. in an amount of at least 1.75 moi/kg aqueous phase,preferably from L to 3.00 moi/kg aqueous phase, since at theseconcentrations of sugars and polyalcohols the products aremicrobiologically stable for at least several weeks when stored attemperatures of about 20C. Apart from a favourable influence of thepolyalcohols on the microbiological stability of the cream concentrate,they further exert a surprisingly positive influence on the viscosity ofthe product.

Products containing a sufficient amount of polyalcohols have an almostconstant viscosity at temperatures varying from S20C. whereas identicalproducts which do not contain such additives can be pourable at 20C andplastic at 5C.

In this specification in calculating the molar concentration of sugarsand polyalcohols in the aqueous phase, the molecular weight of thesaccharose is multiplied by 2 and that of other sugars and polyalcoholsby 1, since it has been observed that saccharose has a more pronouncedinfluence on the microbiological stability than other sugars andpolyalcohols.

The cream concentrate of the invention can contain up to 6 percent ofvegetable phosphatides, particularly no less than 0.1 percent andespecially preferred no more than l.5 percent. The phosphatides areparticularly advantageous at the lower egg yolk levels. Roughly about0.3 percent of phosphatides are required to decrease the egg yolkcontent from about 4.5 to 3.5 percent.

The aqueous phase of the cream concentrate should contain a substantialproportion of water which in turn can be derived from milk or milkproducts. Alternatively the aqueous phase can consist of water or a mixture of water and dried milk products, e.g. dried skim milk or full fatmilk powder, etc.

The phosphatide which can be used for the purpose of the invention canbe a phosphatide slime obtained in the production of vegetable oils,e.g. soybean or rapeseed oil by steam or water treatment of theextracted oils at e.g. 95l00C. Crude phosphatides can also be obtainedby centrifuging such a phosphatide slime and drying the product underreduced pressure. A typical phosphatide which can thus be obtainedcontains about 20-40 percent of oil and 80-60 percent ofdiacylglycerophosphatides. It is particularly preferred to use vegetablephosphatides which contain monoacylglycerophosphatides which lack eitherthe aor B-acyl groups of the diacylglycerophosphatides. Typical of themare aand B-lysolecithin and and B-lysocephalin.Monoacylglycerophosphatides can be prepared by synthesis or they can beobtained by chemical hydrolysis (see eg British Patent Application No.18163/68) or enzymatic hydrolysis (see e.g. British Patent ApplicationNo. 42,968/70). The partial hydrolysed phosphatides which areparticularly preferred in the product of the invention contain -35percent by weight of monoacylglycerophosphatides.

Proteins, especially egg whites, which can have a beneficial effect onthe pourability of the cream concentrates of the invention, especiallythose of high fat contents, can be present in a proportion of 0-5percent by weight, preferably 0.5 to 3 or 3.5 percent.

To improve the hold-up of the cream whip prepared from the products ofthe invention it is sometimes advisable to add a small proportion, e.g.up to about 1 percent by weight, of a stabiliser, e.g. a vegetable gum.Particularly suitable proportions are e.g. 0.0l to 0.3 percent,particularly 0.025 to 0.035 percent by weight of the emulsion. Forconsistency reasons it is sometimes advantageous to incorporate smallproportions of soap and/or fatty acids in the product of the invention,e.g. 0.] to 1 percent.

The cream concentrate of the invention can be diluted with sufficientadditional aqueous phase, e.g. water, milk or skim milk to provide acream of a fat content of 25-35 percent. This cream can be whipped byconventional means to provide a cream whip of the desired specificvolume.

The invention also relates to a process for preparing a filled creamconcentrate which comprises emulsifying a blend comprising fat,monoglycerides, egg yolk and an aqueous phase at a temperature above themelting point of the fat and subsequently, homogenizing, pasteurising,cooling, homogenizing cooling and aseptic filling the emulsion obtained.The homogenizing treatment should preferably be carried out such thatthe majority. preferably at least 90 percent, of the dispersed fatparticles have a particle size below lO/L, particularly from 1-3pc,since the better the partition of the fat particles the better thehold-up of the cream whip.

Care should be taken that the cream concentrate is adequately tempered,eg. by storage at 5l0C for at least hours, preferably 12-48 hours.

The invention will now be illustrated by the following Examples.

EXAMPLE I A cream concentrate was prepared from the followingingredients:

a fat blend of a D, of 500 consisting of 35 pans by 44.30 weightsunflower oil, 15 parts by weight coconut-oil,

35 parts by weight partically hydrogenated soyabean oil of a slipmelting point at 36C, 15 parts by weight hydrogenated palm-oil of amelting point of 42C. Monoglycerides of saturated C and C fatty acids(70 (ii-monoglycerides 90%) 0.32 Lecithin (containing 35% of oil) 0.30Carraghenan 0.03 Sorbitol 8.40

1.92 mol/kg aqueous phase -Continued weight saccharose The product wasprepared from a pre-emulsion containing the above ingredients, whichpre-emulsion was prepared as follows:

The fat was heated to C and mixed with the monoglycerides and thelecithin, and subsequently cooled to 50C.

Water was mixed with the sorbitol. saccharose and stabiliser at 50C. Tothis aqueous phase egg yolk and egg white were added and after thoroughmixing the fat phase was dispersed therein, using an Ultra Turraxstirrer.

The pre-emulsion of a temperature of 50C was subsequently homogenised at70 atmospheres in a Knollenberg" high-pressure homogenizer BE400-]200/200; 10-370; pasteurised for 26 seconds at 85C in a plate heatexchanger, cooled to 45C in the same plate heat exchanger, homogenisedat 40 atmospheres in another Knollenberg high-pressure homogenizer asdescribed before, cooled to 20C in the plate heat exchanger andaseptically filled.

The product obtained had an excellent taste and was excellentlypourable, and microbiologically stable after 6 weeks storage at 20C. Thecream concentrate was, after 6 weeks storage, diluted with milk to a fatcontent of 30 percent and whipped using a Hobart whipping machine CE l00to provide a cream whip of a specific volume of 2.6 ml/gram. Thestand-up had not changed after 8 hours storage at 20C.

EXAMPLE ll Example I was repeated except that now 0.2 percent ofmonoglycerides were used and 30.82 percent water. The characteristics ofthe cream concentrate obtained were identical to those of the product ofExample 1 except that the product was somewhat less viscous. Thespecific volume of the cream whip was 2.4 ml/gram.

The stand-up did not change during 8 hours storage of the whip at 20C.

EXAMPLE lll Example I was repeated except that the following percentagesof ingredients were used:

fat 3 monoglycerides tat-monoglycerides %0 stabiliser sorbitolsaccharose egg yolk egg white water 3 In comparison with the product ofExample I, this cream concentrate was less viscous.

A cream whip prepared from the filled cream obtained by diluting thisproduct with milk to a fat content of 30 percent had a specific volumeof 2.65 ml/gram. The stand-up was maintained during 8 hours storage ofthe whip at 20C.

EXAMPLE [V Example Ill was repeated, except that the egg white wasreplaced by water. The characteristics of the cream obtained weresimilar to those of Example lll, except that the product was slightlymore viscous. The specific volume of the whip prepared after dilution ofthe product with milk to 30 percent fat was 2.6 ml/gram; this specificvolume could, however, easily be decreased to unacceptable values if theproduct was whipped for too long a period. The stand-up of the whip wasmaintained during 8 hours storage at C.

EXAMPLE V Example IV was repeated except that the following percentagesof ingredients were used:

fat 47.3% monoglycerides 0.3 stabiliser 0.03 sorbitol 9.22 saccharose10.0 egg yolk 3.45 Water remainder In comparison with the product ofExample [V this cream concentrate was more viscous at 20C and justpourable at 5C.

The characteristics of the whip prepared from a 30 percent fatcontaining cream were identical to those of the whip of Example IV.

EXAMPLE Vl Example I was repeated except that the lecithin was replacedby a partly hydrolysed lecithin containing about 20 percent ofmonoacylglycerophosphatides. The product was appreciably less viscous;the stand-up of the whip was maintained for about 4 to 5 hours at 20C.

EXAMPLE Vll Example 1 was repeated except that 37 percent by weight offat blend of a D value of 320 and 1.5 percent of egg yolk, 8.5 percentof dextrose, 6.0 percent of mannitol and 0.9 percent of soyabeanlecithin were used; the water content was correspondingly adjusted.

A cream concentrate of acceptable properties was obtained.

EXAMPLE Vll] EXAMPLE IX Similarly as in Example I a cream concentratewas prepared. The following ingredients were used:

Sunflower oil 34.50 Hydrogenated palm kernel 8.00 oil (mp. 39C)Interesterified blend of 50% of palm kernel oil (m.p. 39C) 3.50

and 50% palm oil (m.p. 58C} Monoglycerides of fully hydro- 6 genatedpalm oil of a melting point of 58C 0.64 (or-mono content 35%) -Continued Lecithin 0.30 Carraghenan 0.03 Saccharose 3 l 0 Dextrose 12.75Sorbitol 9.00 Egg yolk 3.45 Egg white 1.20 Water 23 ,53

The emulsion was stored in the refrigerator at 6C for 20 hours, dilutedwith cold milk gram milk per 400 g filled cream concentrate) and whippedin a B0- bart machine at the highest speed.

After 3-5 minutes whipping a good stand-up and a specific volume ofabout 2.2 ml/gram were obtained.

What is claimed is:

l. Pourable cream concentrate comprising by weight: 35-50 percent of fatof a dilatation value at 20C of at least 200; 01-15 percent ofa-monoglycerides; 1-6 percent of egg yolk; at least 5 percent of sugar,the upper limit being determined by the solubility of the sugar in theaqueous phase; 5-15 percent of polyalcohols selected from the groupconsisting of glycerol, mannitol and sorbitol; 0-6 percent of vegetablephosphatides; 0-5 percent of egg white; 0-] percent of stabilizer; thebalance being an aqueous phase.

2. Pourable cream concentrate consisting essentially of: 35-50 percentof fat of a dilatation value at 20C of at least 200; 01-1 .5 percent ofa-monoglycerides; l-6 percent of egg yolk; 23-20 percent of sugarselected from the group consisting of saccharose, dextrose, lactrose andfructrose; 5-15 percent of poly-alcohols selected from the groupconsisting of glycerol, mannitol and sorbitol; 0-6 percent of vegetablephosphatides; 0-5 percent of egg white; 0-1 percent of stabilizer; thebalance being an aqueous phase.

3. Pourable cream concentrate consisting essentially of: 35-50 percentof fat of a dilatation value at 20C of at least 200; 0. l-l .5 percentof a-monoglycerides; 1-6 percent of egg yolk; 8-20 percent of sugarselected from the group consisting of saccharose, dextrose, lactrose andfructose; 5-15 percent of polyalcohols selected from the groupconsisting of glycerol, mannitol and sorbitol; 0.1-1.5 percent ofvegetable phosphatides; 0.5-3.5 percent of egg white; 0.0l-0.3 percentof stabilizer; the balance being an aqueous phase.

4. Cream concentrate according to claim 1, in which the monoglyceridesare substantially completely saturated.

5. Cream concentrate according to claim 1, wherein the polyalcohol issorbitol.

6. Cream concentrate according to claim 5, wherein the sorbitol contentis 8-12 percent.

7. Cream concentrate according to claim 1, which contains sugars andpolyalcohols in an amount of at least 1.75 mol/kg aqueous phase.

8. Cream which consists of a composition as claimed in claim 1 andsufficient additional aqueous phase to provide from 25 to 35 percent offat.

9. Cream according to claim 8, in which the additional aqueous phasecomprises milk.

l l l t l

1. POURABLE CREAM CONCENTRATE COMPRISING BY WEIGHT: 35-50 PERCENT OF FATOF A DILATATION VALUE AT 20*C OF AT LEAST 200,0.1-1.5 PERCENT OFA-MONOGLYCERIDES, 1-6 PERENT OF EGG YOLK, AT LEAST 5 PERCENT OF SUGAR,THE UPPER LIMIT BEING DETERMINED BY THE SOLUBILITY OF THE SUGAR IN THEAQUEOUS PHASE, 5-15 PERCENT OF POLYALCOHOLS SELECTED FROM THE GROUPCONSISTING OF GLYCEROL, MANNITOL AND SORBITOL, 0-6 PERCENT OF VEGETABLEPHOSPHATIDES, 0-5 PERCENT OF EGG WHITE, 0-1 PERCENT OF STABIBILIZER, THEBALANCE BEING AN AQUEOUS PHASE.
 2. Pourable cream concentrate consistingessentially of: 35-50 percent of fat of a dilatation value at 20*C of atleast 200; 0.1-1.5 percent of Alpha -monoglycerides; 1-6 percent of eggyolk; 8-20 percent of sugar selected from the group consisting ofsaccharose, dextrose, lactrose and fructrose; 5-15 percent ofpoly-alcohols selected from the group consisting of glycerol, mannitoland sorbitol; 0-6 percent of vegetable phosphatides; 0-5 percent of eggwhite; 0-1 percent of stabilizer; the balance being an aqueous phase. 3.Pourable cream concentrate consisting essentially of: 35-50 percent offat of a dilatation value at 20*C of at least 200; 0.1-1.5 percent ofAlpha -monoglycerides; 1-6 percent of egg yolk; 8-20 percent of sugarselected from the group consisting of saccharose, dextrose, lactrose andfructose; 5-15 percent of polyalcohols selected from the groupconsisting of glycerol, mannitol and sorbitol; 0.1-1.5 percent ofvegetable phosphatides; 0.5-3.5 percent of egg white; 0.01-0.3 percentof stabilizer; the balance being an aqueous phase.
 4. Cream concentrateaccording to claim 1, in which the monoglycerides are substantiallycompletely saturated.
 5. Cream concentrate according to claim 1, whereinthe polyalcohol is sorbitol.
 6. Cream concentrate according to claim 5,wherein the sorbitol content is 8-12 percent.
 7. Cream concentrateaccording to claim 1, which contains sugars and polyalcohols in anamount of at least 1.75 mol/kg aqueous phase.
 8. Cream which consists ofa composition as claimed in claim 1 and sufficient additional aqueousphase to provide from 25 to 35 percent of fat.
 9. Cream acCording toclaim 8, in which the additional aqueous phase comprises milk.